Jesus Christ and Labor by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 22, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 50.

Jesus Christ and Labor

By Editor

Jesus Christ and Labor.—The Catholic Mirror reports a sermon from Cardinal Gibbons, in which he said:—

"Before the coming of Christ manual labor was held in degradation, and relegated to slaves, as being unworthy of freemen. Christ, our Saviour, has dignified and ennobled labor by word and example."

It is true that our Lord dignified and ennobled whatever he did; but the true men before Christ, the men of God, were not above labor. The "wise-hearted" men of Israel worked at manual labor (Ex. 31: 1-6); the book of Proverbs abounds in injunctions to the diligent; the sons of the prophets cut and carried their timber and builded their own houses (2 Kings 6: 1-7); and the Israelites, small and great, labored in building the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 3: 1-32; 4: 6, 14-17). The Spirit of God is the spirit of earnest, faithful, honest labor wherever duty calls; and the great Father never has had nor ever will have lazy children.